Athletics: Decathlon record shattered

Roman Sebrle, of the Czech Republic, set a world record in the decathlon yesterday, becoming the first athlete to break the 9000-point barrier.

The 26-year-old Sebrle, who won the silver medal at the Olympic Games in Sydney last year, scored 9026 points in the meet at Goetzis, Austria.

He beat the previous record of 8994 points, set by fellow Czech Tomas Dvorak during the European championships in Prague in July 1999. Sebrle's run to the world record included personal best performances in eight events. His previous overall best was 8757.